Putin scrambles to boost weapons production for Ukraine war

By ANDREW MELDRUM
Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Facing production delays and mounting losses, Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged his government to cut through bureaucracy to crank out enough weapons and military supplies to feed the war in Ukraine. The Russian military’s shortfalls in the eight-month war have been so pronounced that Putin had to create a new structure to try to address them. On Tuesday, he chaired a new committee designed to accelerate the production and delivery of weapons and supplies for Russian troops. He stressed the need to “gain higher tempo in all areas.” Meanwhile Ukrainian authorities asked citizens not to return home and further tax the country’s battered energy infrastructure, and Western countries mulled how to rebuild Ukraine when the war ends.